Temporal Remand
by Swordoflight86
Summary: Hinata never got her happy ending. Now she has a second chance at happiness. Too bad she's the only one who can save the world. Because it's not just her happiness on the line.
1. Chapter 1

Temporal Remand

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto

Warnings: Plot divergence after Chapter 405

Pairing: NarutoxHinata

Summary: Hinata never got her happy ending. Now she has a second chance at happiness. Too bad she's the only one who can save the world. Because it's not just her happiness on the line.

Chapter 1: Times Change

Seven Years Ago-

Hyuga Hinata stood at the village gates, waiting. She had been waiting since nightfall, and she would gladly stand here until morning if it meant stopping the man she loved from throwing his life away. Her patience was rewarded when she heard footsteps approaching. Within seconds, the form of Uzumaki Naruto came into view.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata greeted him, barely managing to control her stutter.

"Hinata. Why are you here?" Naruto asked. He stepped closer, making him easier to see in the predawn light. His appearance was unkempt and his eyes had dark circles around them.

"I came to stop you from doing this." Hinata moved between him and the village gates, interdicting any attempts to escape the conversation.

"Doing what?" Naruto asked, in a manner that implied that he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Leaving the village." Hinata stumbled over the words. Her self confidence was starting to fail in the face of Naruto's evasiveness.

"It's my decision. Nothing anybody can do or say is going to change my mind. Go home, Hinata." The twilight had brightened to the point where Hinata could make out his form clearly. He was dressed in dark colors, and carrying nothing but his weapons and ninja tools. It was then that Hinata realized what Naruto's real purpose in leaving the village was.

"So that's it? You're going to be just like HIM? You're going to throw everything you have away. And for what, vengeance? Even if you do succeed, it won't bring Jiraiya back, and you'll have lost everything you still have left; your home, your friends, and your ideals. You'll be no better than Sasuke." Hinata yelled, unable to contain the anger that she felt.

"What good have those things done me? Sasuke seems to be closer to the mark than I am. He's succeeded in accomplishing his goal, and I'm not even close to mine. I'm not even closer to my goal than I was when I graduated. I don't care about the future anymore. All I care about is the present, and right now all I want is to kill Pein.

Naruto pushed past Hinata and started to walk away. Hinata stared after him, stunned, mind blank, heart breaking, trying to find the words that would keep him from leaving the village, leaving her. With every step, he was closer to being lost to her forever. Then she lost control. Hinata ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Naruto-kun, don't leave," she begged, "stay, please."

"Why is it so important to you that I stay here, Hinata?" Naruto asked, gently removing himself from Hinata's embrace.

"Because I-," she stopped, then she swallowed and continued, "because I love you."

Naruto nearly collapsed. "Wha-. I don't-. It's not poss-. Naruto decided to give up on completing a sentence and settled for one word. "Why?"

"You inspired me. I always wanted to be strong, to make my father proud. I thought that if I could be like you, if I tried as hard as you do, maybe i could be strong. Somewhere along the way my admiration for you grew and turned into love," Hinata confessed, stuttering the whole while.

"Hinata, I-, I don't know what to say. I can't stay. I have to, I need to do this. I won't be able to move on until I do."

"Naruto-kun."

"Hinata, I know that you have feelings for me, and I can't promise that I'll return them, but-" Naruto paused. He took off his necklace, grabbed Hinata's hand, and placed the necklace in it. "I promise I'll come back for this, and when I do, we'll find some way of figuring this out." He turned around.

Hinata, carried away in a sudden rush of excitement, grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him around, and kissed him. Naruto started to pull away, but Hinata pulled him closer. She held him there until he started to kiss her back, then she pulled away. Hinata was blushing badly, and she was dangerously close to fainting.

"What was that for?" asked a confused and out of breath Naruto.

Hinata said the first thing that came to her mind. "Just wanted to give you some extra incentive to come back, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked at her askance. "I'll bet," he replied. He walked away. On his way out of the gates he called over his shoulder, "I'll be back, I promise." Then he was gone.

Hinata put Naruto's necklace on. "I'll be waiting."

*****

Six and a Half Years Ago-

Hinata was enjoying her lunch of take-out ramen at Training Ground 17. She was taking a break from her training, which had been going remarkably well, if with a few snags. She'd been working on her own Jüken variant, but she'd been forced by the clan's customs to hide her training. The Hyuga clan frowned upon alterations made to its style. Her teammates thought that her version of the style had the potential to be far more potent, and they thought her skill with both ordinary Jüken and her variant had increased by a significant amount since she had started creating it. When she finished her lunch, she began training. Once she had resumed training, within half an hour she was interrupted again. This interruption, however, was not nearly as welcome as lunch, or even welcome at all.

"So, this is what you've been doing way out here, in this, the most deserted of training grounds. You can train your butt off at any of the other ones, you know. Unless, of course, you're doing something you don't want the rest of your clan to find out about."

"Kakashi-san, are you going to say anything important, or are you just going to stand there saying idiotic nonsense?" Hinata asked, with just a trace of testiness in her voice.

"Why so rude, when I have such good news," the one-eyed ninja replied.

"Are they going to have you do D-rank missions for the next ten years?"

"Well, I AM getting a new genin team but that's not what I'm here to tell you." Kakashi said, chuckling at his wit.

"Can you get around to it then, I have training to do." Hinata was beginning to get seriously annoyed.

"Okay, okay. We've had word about Naruto, of a sort at least."

Hinata felt a sudden surge of apprehension. "What happened to Naruto-kun?" Hinata found that she had to force herself not to stutter.

"We don't know. An ANBU team returning from a mission found Piens remains. He's dead."

"That's good news. What about Naruto-kun?"

"There was no evidence that he's dead, but then again, there was no sign of him period. It's like he just disappeared. But if he survived, he should be back soon."

_'Naruto-kun'_

*****

Six Years Ago-

Hinata was doing her rotation in the mission room when the news that Uchiha Sasuke was dead came in. It was part of a report from Kakashi on his team's first C-rank mission.

"The mission went off without a hitch. We escorted our client to his destination, fought off a single bandit attack on the way, then made our way back. It was then that we found the bodies." Kakashi reported

"What bodies, Kakashi-san?" Hinata asked.

"We stumbled onto the bodies of Uchiha Sasuke and three unknown confederates. After identifying the body of Uchiha Sasuke, I followed procedure and disposed of the remains on site."

"What condition were the bodies in, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked him.

"Is that really relevant, Hokage-sama?"

"I believe it is, Kakashi."

"They were in bad shape. Burns, lacerations, puncture wounds, every kind of trauma that can be inflicted on a person, they had. It was a gruesome scene."

"How are your genin holding up?" Hinata asked.

Kakashi gave her a look that said 'what gives you the right to ask that question'. He answered anyway. "They're holding up okay, but they're going to need some psych treatment."

"I'll make sure that they get some." Tsunade replied. "Anything else?"

"No, Hokage-sama."

"You may go."

Kakashi left the room. Tsunade turned to Hinata. "Hinata-san, I've been meaning to ask you about some things that I've noticed about you recently. Like you disapppearing to remote training grounds for days when you don't have a mission," Then Tsunade got a sly look on her face, "and maybe even the sudden lack of stutters in your speech?"

"Hokage-sama, I've just been trying to gain my father's approval, nothing more." Hinata lied on the spot, not wanting anyone to know why she was really training so hard.

"Oh, really? This doesn't have anything to do with a certain blond ninja? A certain blond ninja who I distinctly remember giving that necklace you're wearing to?"

"N-no, Hokage-sama."

"Don't worry about it. I think it's about time that someone showed some interest in him. And you two would make a nice couple anyway."

Such a blunt assessment was too much for Hinata. She passed out on the spot.

*****

Three Years Ago-

Sunagakure was in ruins. Hinata was simply unable to believe the devastion that had been inflicted on the village. There were no two stone left piled on another, and certainly no survivors. Several teams of Konoha ninja were scouring the debris looking for survivors, but it was a lost cause, and they knew it. Most of them had started to try and find the cause of the destruction. So far it seemed that whatever had done this had not done it all at once, but it had done it within a fairly short period, and all attempts to stop it had proved less than futile. As she scanned the area with her Byakugan, she noted that there were lingering traces of potent chakra permeating the ruins of the village. The chakra signature vaguely reminded her of something, but she couldn't quite finger it. She stood up as Shikamaru walked up behind her.

"Anything?" Shikamaru asked.

"Some faint chakra traces, but other than that, nothing." Hinata replied.

"This is bad, nobody can figure out what did this. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be able to be stopped. It's like the Kyūbi blew into the place and romped around. So troublesome."

Hinata realized as Shikamaru said that what those chakra traces remided her of, but stayed silent. Best not to name her fears, so as not to give them form. And better not to give people any ideas, too. It took Hinata a second to realize that Shikamaru had continued talking.

"-and if this is one of the tailed beasts, we're probably going to need that jutsu that the Fourth used to kill the Kyūbi. Hinata, are you listening?"

"I was just thinking." Hinata replied.

"About Naruto?" Shikamaru asked

"Something like that."

"I thought for sure you were going to tell me that the Fourth's jutsu wouldn't work on whatever this is."

Hinata said nothing, not trusting herself to speak. She turned on her Byakugan and scanned the surrounding area one more time. Those chakra traces were still there, and she had been right about what they reminded her of. She walked off.

*****

One Week Ago-

Hinata had just gotten out of the bath when the toad showed up. It appeared in a puff of smoke on top of her sink. She quickly grabbed for her towel and wrapped it around herself. When she finally realized just what a toad appearing on her sink meant, her heart leapt, then she felt a wave of apprehension pass through her. Naruto was alive, but he should have been back years ago. She spoke up.

"Good Afternoon," Hinata said

"Ah, Hinata-sama," the toad said when it saw Hinata, "I bring you a message from Naruto-sama."

Hinata found she had difficulty understanding the toad. It wasn't because of what the toad said, but rather the fact that she had been distracted by the toad's use of '-sama' in referring to to both her and Naruto. In all of her _studying_ of Naruto, the few times she'd seen him talk to his summons she'd never seen the act subordinate to him. But this toad had. It just didn't mesh with her previous experience.

"Hinata-sama, are you well?" the toad asked.

"I'm fine." Hinata replied.

"You looked a little faint"

"I was just confused. I've never heard one of Naruto's summons refer to anyone else as '-sama'."

The toad looked discomfitted. "That is how Naruto-sama like us to refer to him."

Hinata looked at the toad suspiciously. "And just what happens if you don't call him that?"

"Naruto-sama wishes me to tell you that he desires you to meet him at the Valley of the End in one week."

"What if I can't make it?" Hinata asked. She had a mision the following day and she didn't know how long it would take to complete. She didn't know if she would be able to make the rendevous.

"Naruto-sama says that he will wait for one day, no more. He asked me to tell you it is imperative that you meet him, as he has waited a very long time to see you." The toad dropped into a conspiratorial whisper, "I would go, it would be worth the time."

Hinata thought about it. She wanted to see Naruto badly. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, so many things she wanted to say, and she wanted to _know_. But she had obligations that were not easily cast aside. Was she willing to put them on hold to see him? After asking herself that question many times, she decided that she was.

"Tell him that I'll be there."

The toad sighed, "Naruto-sama will be pleased."

*****

Now-

Hinata stood on top of the head of the First Hokage. Standing across from her, on the head of Uchiha Madara, was the person she had come here to meet. The man she loved, Uzumaki Naruto. She jumped down onto the water and made her way across the river, but she stopped halfway. She would go no farther than this. She stood there unmoving, feeling a growing sense of nervousness as the figure on the other head jumped down and made their slow way acroos the river towards her. They stopped in front of her. Naruto had changed, which was unsurprising, given the fact that seven years had passed since they'd last seen each other. But some of the changes were of the kind that time couldn't explain. His hair had gained crimson streaks, his canines had grown into fangs, his eyes had turned a deep violet, and his whisker marks had grown darker and more pronounced. Those weren't the only changes, though. His nails had turned into claws, and his eyes had a dark, almost sadistic gleam. You'd almost need an encyclopaedia to catalogue the differences between him now and him then.

"It's been a while, Hinata-chan." Naruto said.

"You were suposed to come back to me." Hinata replied.

"I know."

"Why didn't you?"

"Some stuff came up."

"What came up that took you away for so long?" Hinata thought she knew, but wished she didn't.

"Taking over the world isn't easy, you know."

"You can't mean that."

"I mean every word of it. It really isn't as easy as people think."

"What happened to you?" Hinata asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Answer the question." Hinata replied, steel in her tone.

"Well, it goes something like this," Naruto began walking towards the shore. Hinata followed him. "When I fought Pein, I was forced to tap into the

Kyūbi's chakra. I tapped into it far deeper than ever before. Ordinarily the Kyūbi would have taken control long before I reached the point I did, but I forced myself to maintain control, becuase _I_ wanted to kill him. So anyway, I realized just before I killed him, after he used some useless jutsu on me, that I had what everyone else in the world wanted. Power, Hinata-chan. Only I have an unlimited supply, thanks to the fact that I have the entirety of the powers of the mightiest of the Bijuu at my beck and call. I've spent my life listening to people who were weaker than me, forced to listen to their insults because I didn't know the truth. Why, Hinata, should I have to obey anyone else. If anything, eveyone else should have to obey me."

"You've changed, Naruto-kun, and not for the better."

"Everyone changes with time, Hinata-chan. You no longer stutter, and you carry yourself with a confidence that does your name proud. Yet you still love me, don't you, Hinata-chan."

"Yes, even now that I've seen what you've become, I still love you."

"And that's why I asked you to meet me out here. You see, tomorrow I'm going to extirpate Konohagakure, and I didn't want you to be there when I did it. I couldn't bear to see you die with the rest of them."

"Why?"

"Why?" Naruto repeated. "The eternal question, 'why?'. It's simple. Once Konoha falls, I think the rest of the world will fall in line easy as you please. So tell me Hinata-chan, how would you like to be an empress?"

Hinata had, at this point, determined that no matter how much she loved Naruto, he was beyond saving. He had to be stopped. The problem was that stopping him was like trying to stop the Kyūbi. It couldn't be done through mundane means, and all the other means that could be used were impossible due to his unique circumstances. She had to try though. She activated her Byakugan.

"So it's going to be like that, is it?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

Hinata moved forward into melee range and struck out with a palm strike. Naruto merely stepped backward with such speed that Hinata nearly fell flat on her face. Then Naruto disappeared from her forward vision. Hinata immediately spun to her right, and began emitting chakra from her tenketsu. The dome of the Kaiten formed in time to send Naruto flying several feet backwards. Hinata ended her Kaiten and moved immediately into her next move.

"**Hakke Rokujuyonshou****"**

Naruto noticed one significant difference between Hinata's technique and Neji's. She was using lightning nature chakra with the technique, which was causing his muscles to sieze. The fact that his tenketsu were closed meant that the chakra wouldn't purge itself from his body. It was insidious in it's genius. Too bad for her that he could reopen his tenketsu.

Hinata knew she was in trouble when she noticed Naruto reopen his tenketsu. When she saw him form a wind elemental rasengan in his hand, she knew she was screwed. When she saw it turn red with demonic chakra, she knew she was dead. Then Naruto threw it. Hinata used the Kaiten again. The Rasengan hit her Kaiten and blew through it and sent her flying onto Uchiha Madara's head. She broke her collarbone, arm, wrist, several ribs and her hip when she landed. She was finished. Not that she'd ever stood a chance in the first place, but she'd had to make the attempt, for the man he used to be. She'd suspected he'd turned into this for three years, why hadn't she said anything. She heard footsteps slowly approaching. Then Naruto picked her up by the throat.

"Now why did you have to go and do that? Right about now I'm pretty much king bastard of the world and not all your jutsu or shinobi can stop me."

'Was this end inevitable? Could I have saved him?' Hinata thoughts had taken a morose turn.

"You could have been raised to the level of divinity by my hand. I could have given you the world."

"All I ever wanted, Naruto-kun, was to be with you." Then Hinata gathered water elemental chakra to her working hand and struck him in the heart. In an instant, all of Naruto's internal organs were liquefied. Naruto fell to his knees, blood gushing from his mouth. Then he stood up.

Naruto grinned ferally. "Very nice, Hinata-chan. That attack would have killed any lesser ninja. Unfortunately, it's time to say goodbye. Goodbye, Hinata-chan." He threw he off the edge.

They say that you see your life flash before your eyes as you die, and for Hyuga Hinata, this certainly was true. With Hinata though, her life flashed by in reverse. Just before she hit, she felt a pair of familiar, ethereal lips press against hers. Then she hit, and there was nothing at all.

"_Nee-chan, wake up. Wake up, nee-chan."_

And she did. Fifteen years earlier.

*****

_This morning, I woke up. That's normal. What's not normal is that_

_you don't normally wake up after you die. You also don't usually_

_wake up fifteen years beforehand. Is this a second chance? Can I save him?_

_Will I finally get my fairy-tale ending? Or was that all just_

_a very realistic dream?_

Dairy of Hyuga Hinata, First Entry

End Chapter 1: Times Change


	2. Chapter 2

Temporal Remand

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto

Warnings: Plot divergence after Chapter 405

Pairing: NarutoxHinata

Summary: Hinata never got her happy ending. Now she has a second chance at happiness. Too bad she's the only one who can save the world. Because it's not just her happiness on the line.

Chapter 2: The Past is the Future

Hinata's morning had been terrible. Granted, not being dead was a plus, but she'd forgotten just how much of an ass her father was. So during her morning training session, she'd unloaded on him. The fight had lasted all of ten seconds. Her father had picked himself off the floor and given her a look that was mixed disgust and pride. Then he'd gone on a tear through the household, taking his anger out on every other inhabitant for the most insignificant things. Of course, just so he could prove it was a fluke, he'd had her fight every other member of the household. Now she was late for the academy, and she hadn't had breakfast yet.

She entered the classroom ten minutes after the second period started. Kurenai was lecturing the class on the particulars of chakra. Hinata quickly took a seat.

"-can be used for many applications, among which are-," Kurenai broke off and looked at Hinata. "You are late, Hinata-san."

"Sorry, Kurenai-san, I was delayed by family business." Hinata replied.

"Very well. Since you're late, why don't you tell the class some of the uses of chakra."

Hinata took a deep breath. "Chakra, which is produced throught the mixing of the bodies mental and physical energies, can be used for ninjutsu, genjutsu, self-healing techniques, increasing one's speed or strength, and-"

"Thank you, Hinata. I wasn't expecting you to teach the class. Now, I want you all to try to mold some chakra using the technique I showed you yesterday, and then try to create a bunshin."

Hinata pulled a pad of paper out of her desk and began doodling. She was bored. She was a Jounin, this was beneath her.

"Hinata, you're not doing the excercise." Kurenai said.

Hinata merely pointed behind Kurenai. Kurenai turned and saw a half dozen Hinata clones poof into smoke.

"Kurenai-sensei," Naruto whined, "I can't do this."

"Hinata, why don't you help him?"

"Yes, Kurenai-san," Hinata rose from her seat, "Naruto-kun, we're going outside."

Naruto didn't move. "Now, Naruto-kun," she said, adding a little snap to to her voice. Naruto, cowed, followed her out the door.

****

Hinata led Naruto out into the woods behind the academy.

"Naruto-kun, you know how to mold chakra, right?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"Okay. Now, the reason you can't make a bunshin is because you have terrible chakra control."

"Chakra control?"

'_Ooops'_ She'd forgotten they didn't cover that topic until the fourth year. "It's how much chakra you put into a jutsu compared to how much it needs. Like you only need one cup of boiling water for instant ramen, but if you use two it comes out bad." She saw the light go on upstairs. "You have a lot of chakra, and bad control, which means you overload your jutsu's." She realized he looked like a kid lost in the woods a two am and decided to get right to the point. She walked over to the nearest tree and walked up it.

"Woah, cool, how'd you do that?" Naruto looked like he was about to wet his pants from excitement.

"You mold chakra, and concentrate some of it to your feet, using it to stick to the tree." Hinata walked up another few meters. "If you can make it to me by the end of the period, I'll teach you an even cooler jutsu."

Naruto ran up to the tree and took three steps up it before being thrown off. He shook himself off and tried again. And again. Hinata, watching this, felt a feel of nostalgia bubble up inside her. How many times had she watched him from the shadows, doing something like this?

_Hinata stood behind a tree as she watched her crush toss kunai at a tree. He missed ninety percent of the time and was cussing up a storm, but he kept picking them up and throwing them again. He was getting better, Hinata surmised. 'I wish I could be better, too.' She turned and walked away. She had to get back or her father would get angry._

"Ha, made it." Naruto yelled. Hinata turned and saw that Naruto was indeed standing next to her. She checked her watch. Thirty seconds until the end of the period.

"Good job, Naruto-kun. Meet me at Ichiraku Ramen after class. I'll teach you your jutsu then."

****

"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen, how may I help you?" Ichiraku Teuchi greeted Hinata as she stepped through the flaps of the stall.

"One miso ramen, please." Hinata replied.

"Ayame, one miso. I must say, I'm surprised, we don't often get Hyuga coming to our stand." Teuchi commented.

"That's because my family is arrogant and stuck up. Their loss."

Just then Naruto walked through the flap. "Hey Ojisan, two bowls of beef ramen."

Teuchi placed the ramen on the counter. Naruto began to inhale it, only to find that the noodles kept breaking.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said, "eat slowly. You won't need to eat as much."

"How are you doing that?" Naruto asked her.

Hinata shook her head. "I'll tell you when you chakra control gets better."

Naruto took a few bites of his ramen. "So what's this cool jutsu you're going to teach me?" he asked with his mouth full.

"Chew your food.The jutsu is a variation on the Bunshin no Jutsu. It's called Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It creates a solid clone rather than an illusionary one."

Naruto was completely confused. "What are you talking about?"

Hinata created a Bunshin, then created a Kage Bunshin. "See for yourself. Punch them."

Naruto did so, and was startled to find that one of them was real. In a manner of speaking. Then he noticed Hinata looking a little winded. "Are you okay, Hinata-san?"

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun. Can we continue this tommorow afternoon?" Upon recieving his nod, she continued, "Training Ground Eight, after class."

Naruto ran off, leaving her to pay for both their meals. She left the stall, walking down the street towards the Hyuga grounds. She had forgotten that her chakra reserves would not be as large as she was as used to them being. She was going to faint, she just wanted to make it back to the compound before she did. A few steps later, it became a moot point, as darkness overcame her senses.

****

_Hinata_ _stood in the Konoha Hospital ICU, looking at herself. She saw Tsunade checking her over, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with her. With a certain amount of detachment, she noticed that her injuries matched those she had sustained in her fight with Naruto. Then Tsunade walked over to a figure in the corner of the room._

"_Well, how is she?" the figure asked._

"_You should know," Tsunade replied, "You caused her injuries."_

"_You will tell me what's wrong with her, or I will destroy you and everything in this pathetic village."_

"_Hinata is in a coma, I think. Her mind is somewhat more active than one would expect in this case."_

"_You are holding something back from me. If you don't tell me what it is, I might find myself having difficulty holding myself back from dipsosing of some villagers."_

"_Inoichi says that she is reliving her past __in a slighly more proactive manner; __I believe the words __were __he used. But I don't understand why you care."_

"_Because she's proven that she is the perfect person to be by my side while I sit in judgement over the world."_

"_You are insane."_

"_Leave, now." The figure growled. The figure walked into the light, and with a sudden revalation she realized it was Naruto. How she hadn't figured it out before confused her. "Well, Hinata-chan," he said, looking right at her, "I must admit, to escape to the past, to try to change what has happened here is quite ingenious. But you can't escape me that easily." Naruto's hand brushed aside her hair, then traveled down her jaw. Hinata found herself shivering in anticipation. Naruto stepped towards her, bringing his mouth to her ear. "You are MINE." he whispered, then turning her head, he kissed her. Hinata melted into his embrace, returning his kiss, unable to resist the suppressed feelings that his kiss aroused. Naruto pulled away, leaving Hinata feeling momentarily disoriented before she regained her senses. "Go back, Hinata-chan. When I want you, I'll call."_

****

Hinata felt somewhat groggy upon awakening. She reached up to wipe her eyes and found her hand arrested in its movements shortly after they began.

"What the hell?" Hinata said. Hinata didn't swear often, only saving curses for truly perplexing or frustration moments.

"I'm afraid the restraints are necessary, seeing as we are unsure of your capabilities or even your identity."

Hinata turned to look. "Hokage-sama?" she replied, perplexed.

"I must say, they are right, you are a most convincing facsimile." The Third rose from his chair and walked over to the window. The two ANBU guarding the door stayed put. "Your only mistake was not studying the person you are supposed to be mimicing well enough. Kumo must have been working overtime on this plan. So tell me, where is Hinata?"

Hinata wanted to bang her head against the wall. "I'm sitting right here."

"Let me make this clear. You can tell me everything here, and then we'll execute you quickly and painlessly, or we'll hand you over to Torture and Interrogation. You'll tell us everthing anyway, and then we'll execute you slowly and painfully."

"I am Hinata."

The Hokage stared at her in disbelief. "Prove it." he said, humoring her.

Hinata made a hand seal. One of the ANBU guarding the door fell to the ground clutching his head, writhing in pain. "Satified?"

"Yes. I don't understand though, where did all this ability come from?"

"I study hard, train hard and don't tell anyone about it." Hinata said, unlatching the restraints, and standing up. "Am I free to go?"

"Yes."

Hinata walked out the door, not looking back.

****

_I'm not sure what to think. My mind is in the past, yet my body_

_is still in the future. Does that mean that nothing I do_

_here will matter? I certainly find myself frustrated by the _

_fact that I have to hold myself to the standards that_

_everyone else expects of me. The me of the past, that is. _

Dairy of Hyuga Hinata, Second Entry

End Chapter 2: The Past is the Future


End file.
